Bag-fastener.



No. 785,870. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905. A F. FULLER. BAG FASTENER.

APPLICATION FILED mm: 7, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E:LE-%* V I 515-5 WITNESSES: I INVENTOR'.

' EJ-BET'EFFIHEI' %/k w pi flitcgi/mw ATTORNEY PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905.

A. F. FULLER. BAG FASTBNER.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 7, 1904 2 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

ALBERT F. FULLER, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. ASSIGNOR TO THE J. E. MERGOTT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEIV JERSEY.

BAG-FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,870, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed June 7, 1904. Serial No, 211,460.

To col/Z wltoin Tfli 77l/(l/Z/ concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT F. FULLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at N ewark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bag-Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap- Io pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has reference to'improvements in bag-fasteners for use with the framesections of satchels, chatelaine, and other bags; and the invention has for its principal object to provide a neatly and strongly constructed bag-fastener comprising in general a lock-casing which is secured in a fixed or stationary position upon the one frame-section and a fixed holding or retaining plate upon the other frame-section, the said fixed or stationary lock-casing being provided with a movable mechanism for actuating a holding-catch which is adapted to be forced in holding engagement with the said holding or retaining plate when the frame-sections are brought into their closed relation, and the said lockcasing having a finger-piece in the form of a push-button which projects from an opening in one of the sides of the lock-casing, by means of which the'holding-catch can be disengaged from said holding or retaining plate to permit the separable relation of the hinged bag-frame sections.

My present invention consists in the novel bag-fastener hereinafter set forth; and, furthermore, this invention consists in the va 4 rious arrangements and combinations of parts, as well as in the details of the construction thereof, all of which will be fully described in the following specification and then finally embodied in the clauses of the claim.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front View of one form of bagframe and the bag-fastener embodying the principles of my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear view of the said bag-fastener and a portion 5 of the frame-sections, and Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 3 3 in said Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow Fig. A is a front view of the lock-casing and the holding or retaining plate with portions of the two frame-sections to which they are secured, the parts being represented in their open or separated relation; and Fig. 5 is a top or plan view of the said parts. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional representation of the said actuating mechanism. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on line 7 7 in said Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrow y; and Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are three transverse vertical sections taken, respec- 5 tively, on lines 8 8, 9 9, and 10 10 in said Fig. 6 of the drawings looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in said figure. Fig. 11 is a collective perspective view of the lock-casing and the various parts of the catch-actuating 7 mechanism, the parts being represented in their detached relation; and Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the holding or retaining plate.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above-described views to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawings, the reference characters 1 and 2 indicate a pair of bag-frame sections of any usual configuration and which are pivotally connected at their lower end portions 3 in any usual manner. Suitably connected with the said bag-frame section 1 is a bag fastener or lock 4:, the same comprising a lock-casing 5 5 and a supporting member or plate 6, upon which the said casing 5 is arranged and secured in the manner to be presentlydescribed. The said member or plate 6 is suitably secured to the said frame-section 1, preferably 9 by means of a downwardly-extending portion or side piece 7, which is adapted to be arranged against the outer face or side of the frame-section 1 and is fastened in position by means of pins or rivets 8, as illustrated in 95 Figs. 2, 3, and 4:; but any other suitable fastening means may be employed, if desired.

The said lock-casing 5 is secured upon the upper surface of the said plate or member 6 by means of suitable prongs or lugs 9, which are passed through suitably-disposed openings or perforations in the plate or member 6 and are bent over against the under surface of said plate or member 6 and are arranged in depressions formed by raised portions 11 in said plate or member 6, substantially as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. The said plate or member 6 is also provided near one of its longitudinal edges with holes or openings 12, and near its other longitudinal edge the said plate or member 6 is provided with u pwardly-extending posts or fingers 13, each post or finger being provided with an angular end portion 14. The said posts or fingers 13 and their angular end portions 1 1 form suitable pintle-receiving bearings upon the said plate or member 6, in which are movably arranged suitable pintles or journal portions 16 of a catch-plate 15, which is capable of an oscillatory movement upon the upper face of the said plate or member 6 and is provided witha cut-away or open part 17 and the downwardly-extending holding lugs or catches 18, which extend into and through the openings 12 in the said plate or member 6 and beneath the under surface of the said plate or member, so as to be capable of being broughtin holding engagement with a suitable holding or retaining plate upon the frame-section 2 in the manner and for the purposes to be presently more fully described. The said catclrplate 15 is also provided with an upright or post 19, and 20 is a curved spring having an extension 21, formed with an opening 22, in which the said upright or post 19 is arranged substantially as illustrated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, the said spring having its free end portions 23 sprung in holding engagement with the inner surface 24 of the casing 5. In this manner the said spring is held in its operative position within the said casing 5, the said spring retaining the said catch-plate 15 under normal conditions in the positions illustrated in Figs. 7 to 10, inclusive, in close contact with the upper surface of the said plate or member 6. Suitably secured to the said spring 20, by means of a post, lug, or rivet portion, as 25, isa finger-piece or push-button 26, which extends into an opening 27 in the side of the lock-casing 5 and projects from the face of the said casing substantially in the manner illustrated in the several figures of the drawings. It will be seen from an inspection, more particularly of Figs. 6 and 8, that when pressure is applied upon the said linger-piece or pushbutton 26 in the direction of the arrow in said Fig. 8 of the drawings the spring proper will be spread, and the-extension 21 being forced against the upright or post 19 of the catchplate 15 the latter will be raised in the manner of the leaf or plate of a hinge because of the pivotal arrangement of the pintles or journals 16 in the bearings, formed by the posts or fingers 13 and their end portions 14. whereby the catches or holding-lugs 18 of the catchplate 15 are sufficiently raised to withdraw them from their holding relation with the hold.-

ing or retaining plate upon the other framesection 2 to permit of the open or separated relation of the two frame-sections. As soon as the pressure is again removed from the finger-piece or push-button 26 the spring assumes its normal initial position at rest, whereby the catch-plate 15 is also returned to its normal position upon the upper surface of the member or plate 6 to permit the holding or retaining plate upon the frame-section 2 to be snapped into its locked or holding relation with the said lugs or catches 18 as soon as the two frame-sections 1 and 2 are once more brought into their closed relation. The said holding or retaining plate is indicated by the reference character 28, and it may be of any construction suitable for the purposes of my present invention; but the preferred construction of such holding or retaining plate is that represented more particularly in Fig. 12 of the drawings, and the'same consists, essentially, of a sheet-metal plate bounded by a marginal shoulder 29 to provide a chambered shell or casing. This shell or casing may be secured upon the frame-section 2 by a suitable arrangement of holding-lugs 30, which are passed through perforations 31 in said frame-section 2 and are bent over against the under surface of said frame-section, substantially as illustrated. The said shell or casing is also made with a depressed part 32 and an inclined surface 33, a pair of lug or catch receiving openings 3% being located in the plate or body of said shell or casing directly back of said inclined surface 33, into which the holding lugs or catches 18 of the catch-plate 15 are forced by the action of the spring 20 in the manner indicated in Figs. 6 and 9, when the two frame-sections are closed and whereby the two frame-sections will be held in their closed relation until the mechanism is again operated by the finger-piece or push-button 26 in the manner hereinabove described.

The manipulation and operations of the several parts will be clearly understood from the previous description and are clearly evident from an inspection of the several figures of the drawings and need therefore not be further described.

Of course I am aware that some changes may be made in the arrangements and combinations of the various devices and their parts, as well as in the details of the construction of the said parts, without departing from the scope of my present invention. Hence I do not limit my invention to the exact arrangments and combinations of the devices and their parts as described in the present specification and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings nor do I confine myself to the exact details of the construction of the said parts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, a fixed casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a spring-controlled push-button extending from said opening, said button being substantiallyin cross-section of the same marginal configuration as the opening in the casing, so as to practically close said opening, and said button having a movement laterally across the said casing in a plane parallel to the plane of the face of said supporting-plate, a catch-plate within said casing with which the said pushbutton is connected to actuate the said catchplate, and means on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in engagement with a holdingplate upon another frame-secti on, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, a fixed casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a spring-controlled push-button extending from said opening, said button being substantially in cross-section of the same marginal configuration as the opening in the casing, so as to practically close said opening, and said button having a movement laterally across the said casing in a plane parallel to the plane of the face of said supporting-plate, a catch-plate within said casing with which the said pushbutton is connected to actuate the said catchplate, a chambered holding-plate upon another frame-section having a depression and an inclined surface portion and said holding-plate being provided with lug-receiving openings, and retaining-lugs on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in holding engagement With the said lug-receiving openings, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, said plate being provided with pintlereceiving portions, a fixed casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a spring-controlled pushbutton extending from the said opening, said button being substantially in cross-section of the same marginal configuration as the opening in the casing, so as to practically close said opening, and said button having a movement laterally across the said casing in a plane parallel to the plane of the face of said supporting-plate, an oscillatory catch-plate within said casing provided. with pintles arranged in the pintle-receiving portions of said supporting-plate, a connecting means between said catch-plate and push-button for actuating said catch-plate, and means on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in holding engagement with a holding-plate upon another'frame-section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, said plate being provided with pintle-receiving portions, a fixed casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a spring-controlled pushbutton extending from said opening, said button being substantially in cross-section of the same marginal configuration as the opening in the casing, so as to practically close said opening, and said button having a movement laterally across the said casing in a plane parallel to the plane of the face of said supportingplate, an oscillatory catchplate within said casing provided with pintles arranged in the pintle-receiving portions of said supportingplate, a connecting means between said catchplate and push-button for actuatingsaid catchplate, a chambered holding-plate upon another frame-section having a depression and an inclined surface portion and said holdingplate being provided with lug-receiving openings, and retaining-lugs on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in holdingengagement with the said lug-receiving openings, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, a fixed casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a push-button extending from said opening, said button being substantially in cross-section of the same marginal configuration as the opening in the casing, so as to practically close said opening, and said button having a movement laterally across the said casing in a plane parallel to the plane of the face of said supporting-plate, a curved spring in said casing, said spring being provided with a perforated portion, a catch-plate within said casing, a post on said catch-plate extending into the perforated portionof said spring, and means on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in engagement with a holding-plate upon another frame-section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, a fixed easing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a push-button extending from said opening, said button being substantially in cross-section of the same marginal configuration as the opening in the casing, so as to practically close said opening, and said button having a movement laterally across the said casing in a plane'parallel to the plane of the face of said supporting-plate, a curved spring in said casing, said spring-beingprovided with a perforated portion, a catch-plate within said casing, a post on said catch plate extending into the perforated portion of said spring, a chambered holding-plate upon another frame- ITO section having a depression and an inclined surface portion and said holding-plate being provided with lugreceiving openings, and retaining-lugs on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in holding engagement with the said big-receiving openings, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. A bag-fastener comprising a supportingplate adapted to be secured upon a frame-seetion, said plate being provided with pintle-receiving portions, a casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a pushbutton extending from said opening, a curved spring in said casing, said spring being provided witha perforated portion, a catch-plate within said casing, pintles or journal portions on said catch-plate extending into said pintle-receiving portions of said supporting-plate, a post on said catchplate extending into the perforated portion of said spring, and means on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in engagement with a holding-plate upon another frame-section, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

8. A bag-fastener, comprising a supporting plate adapted to be secured upon a frame-section, said plate being provided with pintle-receiving portions, a casing on said plate, said casing being provided in one of its faces with an opening, a push-button extending from said opening, a curved spring in said casing, said spring being provided with a perforated portion, a catch plate within said casing, pintles or journal portions on said catch-plate extendinginto said pintle-receiving portions of said supporting-plate, a post on said catchplate extending into the perforated portion of said spring, a chambered holding -plate upon another frame-section having a depression and an inclined surface portion and said holding-plate being provided with lugreceiving openings, and retaining-lugs on said catch-plate adapted to be brought in holding engagement with the said lug-receiving openings, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

9. In a bag-fastener, the combination, with a casing, of a curved spring in said casing, said spring having its end portions in engagement with parts of said casing, a perforated extension extending at right angles from one of the marginal edges of said spring, a catchplate in said casing. and an upwardly-extending post on said catch-plate extending loosely into said perforated extension and in engagement therewith, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. In a bag-fastener, the combinatiomwith acasing, of a curved spring in said casing, said spring having its end portions in engagement with parts of said casing, a perforated extension extending at right angles from one of the marginal edges of said spring, a catchplate in said casing, an upwardly-extending post on said catch-plate extendingloosely into said perforated extension and in engagement therewith, and a finger-piece extending from the central portion of said spring, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

11. In a bag-fastener, the combination, with a casing, of a supporting-plate, upwardly-extending posts on said plate and a bent end portion on each post, said posts and end portions forming bearings, a catch-plate in said casing, and pintles or journal portions extending from said catch-plate and arranged in said bearings, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

12. In a bag-fastener, the combination, with a casing, of a supporting-plate, upwardly-extending posts on said plate and a bent end portion on each post, said posts and end portions forming bearings, a catch-plate in said casing, pintles or journal portions extending from said catch-plate and arranged in said bearings, an upwardly-extending post on said catch-plate, an actuating-spring connected with said post, and means for actuating the said spring to bring said catch-plate in its raised position, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim theinvention set forth above 1 have hereunto set my hand this 6th day of June, 1904.

ALBERT F. FULLER.

Vitnesses:

JULIUs E. Mnneo'r'r, FREDK. (J. FaAnN'rznL. 

